Italy's Eni and France's Total ready to return to Iran once sanctions lifted

Italy's oil giant Eni announced on Monday that it is ready to return to Iran's oil industry once the sanctions against the country are lifted.

Eni's Chief Upstream Officer Antonio Vella told an energy forum in Tehran that the company plans to use the latest technologies in Iran's oil projects, stressing that this is crucial in decreasing the project costs.

Vella added that Eni was involved in the development of Iran's South Pars gas field and was also involved in several petrochemical projects in the country before sanctions forced it to leave.

He emphasized that Eni always used the modern technology in all the projects that it carried out in Iran.

The official further said increasing the efficiency of projects is one of the key advantages of Eni, adding that the company wants to use this expertise in its future projects in Iran, as well.

Eni was mostly involved in the development of Iran's South Pars Phases 4&5 as well as the Darkhovin oil project.

However, it had to leave following the intensification of the US-led sanctions against Iran over the past few years.

Total ready to finance Iran oil plans

Another European oil major - France's Total - also announced at the same forum in Tehran on Monday that it is ready to provide the loans required for the development of Iran's oil sector projects once the sanctions against the country are lifted.

Stephane Michel, the president of Total's Middle East-North Africa, told an energy forum in Tehran that Total is also ready to transfer the oil industry technology to Iranian companies.

Michel said the decreasing oil prices pose a serious challenge for the companies worldwide, emphasizing that Total is considering to lower the expenditures for projects in Iran and elsewhere.

He further described Iran's oil and gas reserves as significant, stressing that the country can play an important role in the global energy market.

Total was one of the first companies to take up key energy projects in Iran in mid-90s when the country opened its doors to international majors.

It was involved in the development of Iran's Sirri A&E oil project (1995), South Pars Phases 2&3 gas project (1997) and Balal & Dorood oil project (1999). It was also pursuing the development of Pars LNG project at Iran's South Pars Phase 11, but had to quit as a result of the sanctions.

Iran Nuclear Deal

Based on a nuclear breakthrough between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries that was reached back in July, Iran will reduce certain aspects of its nuclear energy activities in return for the removal of certain economic sanctions imposed against the country.

A key section of the sanctions that are expected to be lifted within the next months will involve those that ban foreign investments in Iran's oil industry.